root is required with run-many

[GrandSchtroumpf]

Current Behavior

The "root" field is required with run-many

"examples": {
  "root": "dummy/path",
  "architect": {
    "serve": {
      "builder": "@nrwl/workspace:run-commands",
      "options": {
        "commands": [
          "ng serve example-1",
          "ng serve example-2 --port 4201"
        ],
        "parallel": true
      }
    }
  }
},

If I don't set the "root" field nx run-many target=serve --project=examples fails with "cannot read length of undefined".

Expected Behavior

Either root should not be mandatory or provide a clearer error message.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create nx workspace
2. Add json example above in workspace.json and update nx.json
3. run nx run-many target=serve --project=examples

This issue may not be prioritized if details are not provided to help us reproduce the issue.

Failure Logs

TypeError: Cannot read property 'length' of undefined
    at ***\node_modules\@nrwl\workspace\src\core\project-graph\operators.js:67:57
    at Array.sort (<anonymous>)
    at Object.getSortedProjectNodes (***\node_modules\@nrwl\workspace\src\core\project-graph\operators.js:55:33)
    at new TargetProjectLocator (***\node_modules\@nrwl\workspace\src\core\target-project-locator.js:15:47)
    at buildExplicitTypeScriptDependencies (***\node_modules\@nrwl\workspace\src\core\project-graph\build-dependencies\explicit-project-dependencies.js:8:34)
    at ***\node_modules\@nrwl\workspace\src\core\project-graph\project-graph.js:60:41
    at Array.forEach (<anonymous>)
    at buildProjectGraph (***\node_modules\@nrwl\workspace\src\core\project-graph\project-graph.js:60:26)
    at Object.createProjectGraph (***\node_modules\@nrwl\workspace\src\core\project-graph\project-graph.js:40:30)
    at Object.<anonymous> (***\node_modules\@nrwl\workspace\src\command-line\run-many.js:17:46)

Environment

  nx : Not Found
  @nrwl/angular : 10.3.0
  @nrwl/cli : 10.3.0
  @nrwl/cypress : 10.3.0
  @nrwl/eslint-plugin-nx : 10.3.0
  @nrwl/express : Not Found
  @nrwl/jest : 10.3.0
  @nrwl/linter : 10.3.0
  @nrwl/nest : Not Found
  @nrwl/next : Not Found
  @nrwl/node : 10.3.0
  @nrwl/react : Not Found
  @nrwl/schematics : Not Found
  @nrwl/tao : 10.3.0
  @nrwl/web : 10.3.0
  @nrwl/workspace : 10.3.0
  typescript : 4.0.3

[vsavkin]

Hi there!

All targets in Nx have to belong to a project. There are no project-less targets. We discussed this feature several times, but it was never high enough priority. We will examine it again.

[GrandSchtroumpf]

I think it's ok not to support "project-less" targets. Then maybe improving the error message would help debugging. Something like : "The keys 'projectType' & 'root' are required".

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it hasn't had any recent activity. It will be closed in 14 days if no further activity occurs.
If we missed this issue please reply to keep it active.
Thanks for being a part of the Nx community! 🙏

[dongyuwei]

project-less targets will be helpful for global tasks, for example lint(eslint and stylelint), we can config only one lint for all projects in workspace.

[github-actions]

This issue has been closed for more than 30 days. If this issue is still occuring, please open a new issue with more recent context.